Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale

Other Names: Bitter aks, Blowball, Bum-pipe(!), Burning Fire, Cankerwort, Clocks, Clock Flower, Clocks and Watches, Combs and Hairpins, Conquer more, Devils milk-plant, Devils milk-pail, Dindle, Dog Posy, Doon-head clock, Eksis-girse, Fairy clocks, Farmers Clocks, Four O' Clock, Golden suns, Heart fever grass, Horse gowan, Irish daisy, Lay a-bed, Lion's tooth, Male, Mess-a-bed, Milk gowan, Monk's head, Old man's clock, One O' Clock, One-two-three, Pishamoolag, P!ss-a-bed, Pissimire, Pittle bed, Priest's Crown, Puffball, Scoolboys clock, Shepherds clock, Sh!t-a-bed, Stink davine, Swine snout, Tell-time, Time flower, Time teller, Twelve O'Clock, Wet-a-bed, Wet-weed, What O' Clock, Wishes, Witch gowan, White endive, Wild endive, Yellow gowan.

Description
A very common hardy perennial with a long, creamy white taproot. It has toothed leaves between 3 and 6 inches long in rosettes around the stem. Golden yellow flowers appear spring to midautumn which turn into spherical 'puffs' of tufted seeds commonly called dandelion clocks. It grows 2-12" (5-30cm) tall.

Cultivation

Site:	Likes sunny, open areas and grows in almost any soil.
Propagation:	Sow seeds in spring to early autumn in the unlikely situation of having none growing wild nearby. After that it will self seed profusely (be warned!) If you are in a country where dandelions are not native, please be careful; they are exceptionally quick to spread and could completely alter the ecosystem of your garden!
Harvest:	Leaves are best picked when young. Rest can be picked just about anytime

Preserve: Roots can be dried and roasted. Decoct flowers.

Relationships: Benefits alfalfa.